Iker Muniain Named In The Athletic Club Squad To Face Celta Vigo

In a season full of disappointments, there has been a lot of joy around Athletic Club over the last couple of days. Iker Muniain was recently cleared to return to the pitch after suffering a torn ACL back in September and he has made it clear that, despite there only being nine games remaining, he wants to play and try to help his team compete for European qualification, although that will not be easy.

Iker Muniain has made his return from a torn ACL (AS)

On Friday Athletic announced the squad list that would be hosting Celta Vigo at the San Mamés on Saturday and, sure enough, Iker Muniain’s name was on it. Fans immediately began to celebrate on social media at the return of their beloved star and rightfully so. However, there are still a lot of questions about how the remainder of the season will unfold for the 25-year-old.

To begin with, it is important to note that Muniain has been training normally for a few weeks now. He certainly shouldn’t be expected to be in peak football shape, but the winger should have his legs under him and be comfortable with his body after being sidelined for six months. Still, some fans are worried about the possibility of re-injury jeopardizing his availability for next season. In the sporting world doctors are the ones that clear players to compete and that normally doesn’t happen unless the risk of re-injury is no longer an issue. Iker Muniain is healthy again, but that won’t keep fans from being nervous about his return.

No one is expecting Muniain to start in his first game back in six months, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Lezama product get some minutes in the second half, especially at the San Mamés. Regardless, this is a massive game that Athletic must win if they are going to continue pursuing the seventh place spot in the La Liga table. The Lions currently trail by eight points with nine games remaining so every fixture is a final from here on out.